“Did they catch the one who did this to me?”

“We’re still searching for him.”

“Who was Justice talking about from Fuller then?” Moon rubbed his chest, hating the feel of sweat covering his body. Fuller was the prison where the humans who had worked for Mercile were incarcerated. Fuller had been created to house them. Species wanted and needed to be kept away from them so only human guards worked there.

“One of the jerks who used to run some of their drug trials.”

“This drug is something new?”

“That’s what we figured. No one remembered ever being subjected to a drug like this one. It is probably something Mercile was screwing with before they were shut down.”

“It’s worse than the breeding drug. At least we knew it was only temporary.” He rubbed his arms next, wiping away the sweat that was gathering on his skin. “Tell me about her.”

Harley frowned.

“Joy,” Moon stated softly. “Who called her? How did she react?” He was almost afraid to hear the answer. “How much did it cost to bribe her into coming?”

“I don’t know who called her. I flew to Reservation to be with you and she was already here when I returned to Homeland. I was delayed a few days though to clear up the mess after our walls were breached.”

“Were any lives lost?”

“None of ours.”

“Good. How much money? Don’t dodge the question.” It pissed him off that his best friend wasn’t being forthcoming but he understood Harley’s desire to protect his feelings. “Be honest. That’s what I need most.”

“No money was involved. She made it clear that she didn’t want to be paid.”

Some of his anger eased. It also confused him. “Then why is she here?”

“That’s what I wanted to know. I was rough on her when we met. I caught her flashing her breasts at you.”

Astonishment slammed into Moon. “What?”

Harley grinned. “Yeah. That’s what went through my mind. I was ready to toss her over my shoulder and jog her to the front gates, thinking she was a pervert about to take advantage of you or teasing you just to be cruel. You wouldn’t respond to anything but her showing her goods, Moon. That was about the sum of it. I was leery at first of her reasoning but it worked. It seems sexy humans showing a lot of skin tames the beast in you or at least makes you talk to get to see more.” He laughed.

Hazy images surfaced of Joy and her very appealing cleavage. “I kind of remember. Not much though.”

“You were pretty out of it that day.” Harley reached up and pulled his hair away from his neck. “I can feel the pounds rolling off as we speak. Is it just me?”

“No. Humans pay for this? Doesn’t it open their skin pores or some such shit?”

“My pores are so open that my skin wants to fall off.”

“Ten more minutes,” Ted called out. “Do you need water?”

“I’m in a puddle of it,” Moon answered. “We’re good.” He lowered his voice and wiped more sweat off his chest. It was running down his body. “Do me a favor though, Harley.”

“Anything.”

“Make sure I don’t get the chance to hurt her if I lose my mind again.”

Harley hesitated.

“I didn’t feel the urge to kill but I still had the idea of slamming my chin into the bridge of her nose when she came in here and got too close to me. That would have killed her instantly if I’d had enough momentum to send the bone into her brain.”

Harley reached out and gripped his wrist. “She knows the risks. She signed a waiver absolving the NSO of responsibility in case of her death or injury.” He let go.

Moon was glad he was sitting down. Was that even possible? It astonished him that Joy would willingly do something of that magnitude to stay at Homeland.

“She is aware of the damage we can do. This morning I read the files she made on some of us. Justice let me read them after we argued a bit. I wanted to look out for you. All the shrinks’ notes on patients were transferred to Homeland when we were. One of our males told her about how he tore out the throat of a technician who leaned in too close to him while he was strapped down on a table. He could only move his head. Another Species described how he got an arm free and snapped the neck of a guard before the human could even react.”

Harley swallowed, shoving at his damp hair to keep it out of his face. “That female knows how dangerous you can be yet she doesn’t shy away from rushing to your aid. What does that tell you?”

Frustration rose in Moon. He was hot, irritable, and angry.

“She’s willing to die for you. I didn’t trust her at first and was wary of her motives but she has strong, true feelings for you, Moon. She regrets bailing on you at site four.”

“She never even attempted to contact me once we came to Homeland. Or Reservation.”

“You should speak to her.”

“I’m talking to you.”

“Okay.” Harley cast a hesitant look in his direction. “I think she loves you.”

“Love?” Moon rubbed his arms again, harder this time, trying to wipe away sweat and the uneasy feeling that made him a bit lightheaded.

His finger found something odd and he rubbed the spot while he mulled over Harley’s words. He had been obsessed with Joy when they’d been at site four. She was the female he’d wanted above all others.

Her leaving had depressed him and he’d sulked for a long time over her loss. Every time he even thought about her it was as if he’d eaten something bad and pain gnawed at his gut. Can that be love? He wasn’t sure since he had never experienced it.

“Love,” Harley repeated. “I can’t think of any other reason she’d face off against you when you were feral. Hell, you scared me and I’m not a weak little human.”

Moon frowned, distracted. His finger probed the spot again. The small lump moved against his bone, actually hurting.

“What is this?”

“There’s something under my skin.”

Harley looked down. “Is that where you were shot?”

“Yes.”

“It was a dart, not a bullet.”

“What did you say?” It was Ted, yelling from the other room.

“I found something in my arm.” Moon’s voice rose and he looked at Harley. “It’s small and it hurts when I press on it.”

“Get out here,” Ted ordered. “Let me see.”

Moon rose to his feet but swayed when he stood, the room spinning a little. Harley didn’t have that problem though as he grabbed him at his elbows to steady him.

“You okay?”

“I think the heat is getting to me.”

“Me too but I’m not wobbly. Let’s get out of here.”

Suddenly Fury was there to help, putting an arm around him. It humiliated Moon a little to need help walking but both males kept a firm grip on him as they led him out of the bathroom. Ted pointed to the bed on the far side of the exam room.

“Put him down there.” He glanced at Flame. “Get Paul. Tell him that playtime is over and our patient won’t try to kill him. I need the ultrasound machine. Your people haven’t been trained on them as well as he is.”

“I’m on it,” Flame announced, spun, and dashed down the hallway.

“What do you think it is?” Moon nearly collapsed onto the mattress. His body was wet and he’d gone from sweating to being cold. “Did part of the dart break off in my arm?”

“Where did you feel it?”

Moon showed the doctor by placing the human’s index finger over the area. “Right there.”

Paul drew everyone’s attention as he pushed a machine on wheels into the room. He smiled when Moon met his gaze. “There’s the guy I know.” Paul came closer. “I hear you’re with us again. I’m so glad. Really. Last time you tried to take a bite out of my arm.”

“I’m sorry.”

Paul halted and bent to plug in a cord. “No problem. It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye…or an arm, in my case.”

“Knock it off,” Ted snapped. “Joke around later. That’s the problem with you young people. You’re more concerned about bedside manner than treatment.”

“No one would ever accuse you of that,” Paul muttered as he turned on the machine and prepared it. “What are we looking for? Did he get injured? Does your chest hurt? I told them to make sure they didn’t tighten the straps too much and to make sure you could breathe without difficulty. We should run you through X-ray though if you think you might have fractured some ribs.”